


A Necessary Adjustment

by Vyc



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Name Changes, Sweetness, families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 06:17:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3317261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vyc/pseuds/Vyc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur decides to make a necessary adjustment in time for Carolyn and Herc's wedding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Necessary Adjustment

**Author's Note:**

> Because, like just about everyone else in the fandom, my heart broke when I found out Arthur's full name. The idea for this came very shortly thereafter.

It wasn't a decision she made lightly. She knew from the start, of course, that Carolyn Knapp-Shappey-Shipwright was not a name she was remotely willing to drag after her for the rest of her life. But the alternative felt very much as though she were trumpeting her feelings from every mountain and valley.

In the end, she decided to frame her decision as a matter of pure practicality (which it was . . . nearly), and anyone who dared hint otherwise would regret it.

The hardest part was telling Herc. She'd known he would get soppy about it. Before sharing the news, she'd insisted he behave like a rational adult. He'd at least kept the verbal part of his reaction down to a stunned ". . . Jolly good," but then he had _glowed_. Honestly, it was embarrassing.

He'd kissed her after that, which was less embarrassing, but. Still.

She hadn't expected, though she should have, that the next-hardest part would be telling her son.

*

"So you're not going to be Carolyn Knapp-Shappey anymore," Arthur summed up.

"No."

"You're not going to be Carolyn Knapp-Shappey-Shipwright."

She grimaced. "Certainly not."

A smile began growing on Arthur's face, starting large and getting larger by the second. "You're going to be Carolyn . . . Shipwright."

". . . Yes."

The smile topped out at a full-scale grin. "And I'm going to be Arthur Shipwright!"

"What? No, you'll still be Arthur Shappey."

"Oh, but that's not fair!"

She held back a heavy sigh. Why she hadn't anticipated something like this was beyond her. "The only person or people who change their names at a wedding are the ones getting married. Since I'm marrying Herc, not you" —thank god— "I'm the one who has to go through all the nonsense of changing my name."

"But can I change my name?" Arthur asked, giving his usual impression of looking up at someone while being the taller.

"I suppose so, although— _although_ ," she repeated over his "Brilliant!", "from what I understand, there's a great deal of paperwork involved. You can't just go changing your name willy-nilly."

"I don't see why not. James Bond does it all the time."

Oh for heaven's sake. She was finding it easier to put up with Arthur's less clever moments these days, but that didn't mean she was a saint. "Arthur, James Bond is a fictional spy. You are an airdot steward. Your positions are hardly comparable."

"Oh yeah." Arthur smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck. "So what do I have to do?"

"I don't know. Look it up online. I'm sure there's a site somewhere that will explain it."

"Brilliant. Thanks, Mum." Arthur leaned down to kiss her cheek; she waved a hand at him.

"Oh, go on, go do your research. And show me _everything_ before you do anything permanent!" she called after him as he dashed from the room. The last thing she wanted was a son called New Name Here.

*

Name changes, as it turned out, were less of a fuss and bother than she had been expecting,  
but more of a fuss and bother than she wanted to deal with—particularly while planning a wedding. Given this was the eighth wedding she and Herc had been involved in (if their previous ones were totalled up), all she wanted was to sign the papers and be done with it. But Herc, as usual, was being stubborn.

It was in the middle of supper at her house two days later, their first meal together since Arthur had made his decision, that Arthur's patience came to an end.

(Frankly, she was surprised he had lasted this long. He must really have wanted to keep it a secret.)

"Herc, guess what."

Herc glanced up from his . . . salad thing. When he got a proper look at Arthur and the way he was all but wiggling in his seat, he set down his fork. "What is it, Arthur?"

"I'm going to have a new name!"

"Are you really?" 

Herc glanced at her, obviously believing this to be another wrong-end-of-the-stick moment, then looked back at Arthur when she gave a brief nod.

"Yeah!" Arthur sat up as straight as he could. "Arthur Hercules Shipwright!"

Herc froze in place, eyes wide, his mouth dropped slightly open. When he spoke, he sounded breathless, utterly lacking his usual smooth confidence. "Arthur _Hercules_ Shipwright?"

"Yeah, because now it's Arthur Gordon Shappey, except that won't be right, because then I won't match you and Mum once you're married," Arthur explained. "I thought about changing it to Arthur Carolyn Martin Douglas Hercules Shipwright, only Mum said it would be too hard to fit onto forms."

"She'd be right," Herc said, still clearly overwhelmed. "But—Arthur—are you sure? 'Hercules' is not a name I'd wish to saddle you with unnecessarily."

"Why not? I think it's brilliant," was the predictable response.

"His mind's made up, Herc," Carolyn interjected, "and there's no changing it, so I suggest you get used to it."

"I . . . suppose I will, eventually." Herc blinked a few times and rubbed at an eye, then brought his hand down to cover Arthur's on the table. "Thank you, Arthur. I'm—I'm honoured."

He reached for Carolyn's hand, but she picked up her knife and fork and cut off another bit of steak. The resulting chuckle made it more difficult not to smile than she wanted to admit.

"Oh, come here," Herc said with laughter still in his voice.

". . . Very well." She made certain to place her hand on top.

It didn't make any difference. Herc flipped his hand beneath hers to better thread their fingers together. He took in a breath; she gave him a look.

"Eat your green thing and stop being sentimental. That goes for you as well, Arthur."

She turned her eyes from Herc and Arthur's matching ridiculous grins and went back to her meal.

"Okay, Mum."

"Yes, my darling."

*

"Ladies and gentlemen and all other persons, this is your steward speaking, Arthur Shap—Arthur _Shipwright_ speaking, Arthur _Hercules_ Shipwright speaking. It will be my pleasure to be stewarding yourselves on this OJS Air flight to Addis Ababa. . . ." 


End file.
